Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) Shares Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares shot up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $121.43 and last traded at $120.42. 41,589,965 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 77% from the average session volume of 23,546,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.64.

More Cisco Systems News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cisco Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Cisco to $135 from $114 and reiterated a Buy rating, citing stronger demand for high-speed optical networking gear tied to AI infrastructure spending. BofA raises Cisco, Ciena targets as AI optics boom accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also lifted its price target on Cisco to $150 from $100 and kept a Buy rating after Cisco’s latest quarterly results, reinforcing optimism around earnings and guidance. Rosenblatt Raises its Price Target on Cisco Systems (CSCO)
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to frame Cisco as a beneficiary of AI-driven networking and security spending, with multiple stories highlighting record results and strong momentum. AI Buildout Fuels Record Results for These Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Cisco joined the EnterpriseClaw AI automation platform alongside NVIDIA, Okta, and OpenAI, reinforcing its security and AI relevance in enterprise workflows. Cisco Joins EnterpriseClaw To Link AI Automation With Security And Valuation Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces are highlighting Cisco as a “throwback” tech stock that still fits into the AI trade, but these articles are mostly market commentary rather than new fundamentals. Dell, Cisco: How ‘throwback’ tech stocks fit into the AI trade
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which is notable but does not necessarily point to changing fundamentals. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media reports continue to note that Cisco has outperformed the broader technology sector, but that view largely reflects recent price strength already in place. Cisco Systems Stock: Is CSCO Outperforming the Technology Sector?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CSCO. DZ Bank raised shares of Cisco Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cisco Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $87.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Cisco Systems from $95.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.09.

Cisco Systems Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $474.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.10, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $93.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.18.

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The network equipment provider reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by $0.03. Cisco Systems had a net margin of 20.14% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The business had revenue of $15.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. Cisco Systems has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.160-1.180 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.270-4.290 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Cisco Systems, Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Cisco Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cisco Systems’s payout ratio is currently 54.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Charles Robbins sold 21,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $2,568,642.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 637,085 shares in the company, valued at $76,469,312.55. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeetendra I. Patel sold 7,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.28, for a total transaction of $840,780.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 246,737 shares in the company, valued at $28,937,315.36. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,324 shares of company stock worth $5,559,834. 0.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cisco Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 198,549 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $13,905,000 after acquiring an additional 26,455 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 686,469 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $46,165,000 after acquiring an additional 56,057 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 213.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 20,497 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 13,966 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,490,482 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $238,818,000 after acquiring an additional 997,738 shares during the period. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Cisco Systems by 126.3% during the 3rd quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. now owns 176,715 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $12,018,000 after acquiring an additional 98,630 shares during the period. 73.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc is a global technology company that designs, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software and telecommunications equipment. Its core business focuses on enabling enterprise and service-provider networks through products such as routers, switches, network security appliances and wireless systems. Over time Cisco has broadened its portfolio to emphasize software-defined networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and edge computing solutions that help organizations build and manage modern IT environments.

In addition to hardware, Cisco offers a growing range of software platforms and subscription services for network management, security, analytics and collaboration.